Henry Olsen

Monday’s release of the annual Medicare Trustees’ report seems on the face of things to be a simple exercise in dry accounting. In fact, it’s much more than that.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum caused a stir last month when he labeled college campuses “indoctrination mills” that enforce a strict adherence to “politically correct left doctrine.” For conservatives, Mr. Santorum might as well have called the sky blue. But from the way liberal pundits pounced on his remarks, you’d think he had said something profoundly indecent.

Wisconsin’s loss confirms not only that the Santorum coalition is a minority of the GOP, but close examination shows that he is losing his grip on his own voters.

For months, former senator Rick Santorum has been talking about working-class woes and promoting a working-class-friendly economic agenda.

Winning the Tuesday trifecta gives Rick Santorum a second chance to make a first impression. This will give him the momentum that his delayed Iowa victory could have given him.

Mitt Romney dispelled any doubts tonight whether he wants to be president badly enough to fight for it.

The country could save $100 billion or more over 10 years by reducing farm subsidies without endangering struggling farmers or affecting food production.

Last week’s election indicates that the GOP marriage with the white working class is on the rocks. That’s bad news, since the epic Republican landslide in 2010 was fueled by record-high margins among these voters.

For decades, conservatives have won elections by wooing white, working-class swing voters with positions they approved of on crime, foreign policy and cultural issues. Economic growth allowed Republicans to expand most government spending programs while simultaneously keeping taxes stable. For both economic and political reasons, this balancing act is no longer possible.

Republican Jane Corwin’s defeat in New York is to Republicans what the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts was to Democrats: a warning of impending disaster if the party maintains its course. Democrats in 2010 refused to see this, blaming their loss on poor turnout and a bad candidate. Republicans cannot make the same mistake.

Despite this election’s high stakes, however, the question of which candidate will bear the GOP’s standard remains shadowed in great uncertainty, owing mostly to the lack of an obvious frontrunner. Given these unusual circumstances heading into 2012, what kind of nominee should we expect? And what kind of nominee should Republicans want?

Wisconsin’s results do not mean conservatives should abandon entitlement reform, but they should expect an energized Democratic base that will fight with all its might. They will need to talk persuasively about what entitlement reform means, stressing that it is absolutely necessary to preserve the lifetime security that entitlements provide.